The Portland daily press., 1887-06-13

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the resident of a rival business centre
started the rumor that the disease had
reached an epidemic form, that several hun
dred people were afflicted with 1t, and IL was
| rapidly spreading, the story was generally
peneVed, and panic eDusued which killed
business OF all kinds, and made st. Martins
vile gloomy and deserted. The farmers in
tne neighborhood refused to come to so dan
ger0us place either to buy or TO sell, and
within the town people were so frightened
mat they refused to shake hands with one an
other through fear Of catching the disease,
ana even refused to be ehaven by the bar
per Tor q like reason. Every one suspected
ms neighbor, and feeling Of insecurity pre-
Nbalied tbd that finally became .uubearable, and
the Board Of Health was called on to investi-
gate the matter. Its investigation has shown
tne reported prevalence of the leprosy there
70 De grossly exaggerated, and that it is not
contagious but hereditary: At the same
sime, TO make assurance dOubly sure" the
Mayor of the town has taken the wise pre-
caution of isolating those who have been
found afflicted with this disease until such
them.
There is every excuse for the panic. for the
leprosy has been known to exist in a certain
secIlon OF Louisiana, notably in the lower
END OF Lafourche parish, for over a century.
ana OF all "the ills that flesh is heir to-"
none can eqnal this horrible malady, against
winch there Is no hope, which renders its
victim disgusting to the world and to himself
ana which shows itself in the descendants to
.ne last generation. The disease in Louisi-
ana Is the true Oriental leprosy, differing in
tbas yns ME, lew features from that described in
sne plDie. IL is treacherous, and comes so
Slowly upon It's victim that he knows moth
ing 0i lts appr0abh until it has fastened its
laIal hands upon him.
lis There is slight pain in the leg or arm, or
gossiply a mild Notwithstanding more
some weeks, or perhaps months, afterward
Sinaii req spot shows itself upon the forehead
OF arm. 1t is so small as to attract no atten-
ton-to De scarcely noticed but it gradually
gIows VS. larger and larger, until it extends over
the Whole face, giving. it a. moduiatod or
1unpy appearancei the red changes to a
dark brown and finally to bronze, and as
Sumes more and more the r0ughness and ap-
Pearance OF leather, looking finally like the
hide OF an elephant. From that the disease
progresses rapidly. The hair and teeth drop
out, the nails fall off; the extremities become
purphsh, the fingers and toes rot away; the
mouth becomes feverish, as hot as lime
kiln; the tongue blotchy, and purple red,
hangs from it and finally drops; the voice
grows weaker and weaker and disappears
the throat fills up, and tracheOtOmy frequent
ly has to be resorted to and tube inserted In
order TO allow the patient to breathe. Ulcers
Dreak out on the legs and arms ana gradually
eat them away; the face becomes less human
and finally assumes the appearance of wild
animal without any resemblance to humanity
The two Misses Boyen, girls of 10 and %,
VINO mad been fair and pretty, looked like
women of over one hundred, haggard, hair
less and toothless, their faces a livid bronze
and covered with ulcers. In the latter stage
OF the disease the victim is absolutely help
less, with only the trunk left behind, to
nnally die OF complete exhaustion. During
these stages the odor emitted, distinctive Of
leprosy. is so oppressive that one can with
difficulty remain in the same room with the
leper.
Knowing of the nature Of the disease, and
doubtful whether 1t is contagious or not, it is
not TO be wondered at that the people living
In these districts where 1t PREVAILS should
demand some protection some time ago. The
Board Of Health was called in by the Police
Jury OF Lafourche to look into the prevalence
OF leprosy in that parish, and DR.. Jones, the
president himself made the investigation.
The complaint made was fsr more serious
one than that from st. Martinsville, for the
people living in the same ward as the leper
protested against the latter sending their
cniiaren 70 the public schools, where they
are thrown Into close intercourse with the
children OF healthy parents. This leper set
tlement Is in the lower portion of the parish
on both sides of Bayon Lafourche. II is
loWt swampy country, thinly settled, far out
OF the line of travel, and seldom visited by
anyone; Here the lepers live almost to
themselves, their Intercourse and trading
with the world, until the last few years,
having been carried on by peddler who was
hlmsef leper. Occasionally healthy per-
dom gets the disease himself, but the child
rem were always liable to it, the grandchild-
rem and all the.descendants. 1t is very re-
markable how the disease propagates itself,
skipplng, from one generation to another.
All the children are liable, but all seldom
have 1t. In one family at Lafourche two out
OF six children had the leprosy, the others
growing up to manhood and womanhood and
showing no taint whatever. OF these two
lepers, one had a. family Of ten, only one Of
diseaSe leaps one or even two generations,
and the children or grandchildren of people
IN perfect health will show the red spot in
the lace, against which there is no remedy
and which kills with certainty in from five to
ten years. Nor is there any certainty when
the poison will show itself. 1t may come
early in childhood or late in life, when the
victim has married and brought up family,
every one OF whom he knows is in danger of
this fatal malady.
The Investigation in Lafourche was not as
successful as that of St. Martinsvile, for this
reason: The lepers, hearing that committee
OF the Board OF Health was coming to inspect
them, became very mnch frightened. And
the rumor was circulated that the State in
tended to arrest them and convey them to an
island In the gulf-as was done many years
ago, during the Spanish rule. They refuseds
therefore, to be examined, retired
into the swamp, and DIR. Jones was able to
see only few of them, although he obtained
all the information he wanted on the subject
from people living in their neighborh0od. In
his report to the Legislature he suggested
that something be done. both for the relief
Of those people and for the protection of
those who lived near them, but no action
was taken.. The st. Martinsville affair and
the demand of the press are likely TO arouse
the Legislature to the necessity of a leper
hospital. If once established, and these peo-
pie can be confined within it, leprosy will
be very soon extinguished in Louisiana, as
the number of persons affected with it is
small.